Japan discusses strike against North Korea

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13775754/

Japan is to vote to consider a "pre-emptive strike" (the article's words) against North Korean missile bases, in response to North Korea's missile launches around the 4th of July. The experts in the article don't rate Japan's air force as being up to the task in pilotry or materiel. Serious things being talked about here.

Update: I've been looking at Globalsecurity.org, for information on Japan's readiness. This link: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/jmsdf.htm

mentions casually, or not so casually, that

For Japan, which relies on foreign countries for the supply of almost all energy and food, the influence to national life is quite serious in case that maritime traffic is cut off. It can also be said that the impact to the world economy is significant in such case.

If they're discussing mixing it up with North Korea, then they should know that

The DPRK, with over 8,800 AA guns, combined with SA-2, SA-3, and SA-5, and handheld SA-7 and SA-16 surface-to-air missiles, has constructed one of the world's most dense air defense networks.

and that

In the mid- 1980s, the former Soviet Union supplied SA-3/GOA surface-to-air missiles to the DPRK. The SA-3 provides short-range defense against low- flying aircraft. In 1987, the former Soviet Union provided SA-5/GAMMON surface-to-air missiles that gave Pyongyang a long-range, highaltitude, surface-to-air missile capability.

They stress that air defence is a North Korean priority. Though they have many unworthy MiG-21s, the North Koreans apparently also do have dozens of MiG-23s, MiG-29s, and Chinese Fantan fighters.

The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force seems to have very little bomber capacity. They have several hundred fighters, including F-1s, F-2s, and F-15Js, some of which serve as fighter-bombers or carry air-to-surface missiles, and their navy has several dozen destroyers, but as far as carrying out this attack on North Korea, it seems it would largely fall to the US to do it. If I were Japan, I would talk less about it, but do more about preparing for it. Considering what a problem it would be for the world economy if Japan lost such a struggle, this is far, far more important than any Vietnam War. I hope our leaders here in Congress are paying a lot of god-blessed attention to this situation, and thinking clearly and critically about it. God help us if this goes wrong, because if there's one thing we know about Kim Jong Il and the North Koreans, it's that they couldn't give a f*** about our capitalist system, or about the suffering that such a disruption of that important little island friend Japan would cause us.